Darren Harris

Darren Harris is a double Paralympian and England’s most capped and most decorated blind footballer on a mission to help ordinary people do extraordinary things.

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As a child, Darren excelled both in the classroom and on the playing field.

However, his disruptive behaviour continued to be a problem resulting in his exclusion from school.

He managed to turn his life around, first going to University to study Maths, then on to work for a leading IT company. But all along, sport was in his DNA.

He made his debut for the England blind football team in 1996, became captain in 2002, and helped the team qualify a place at the Athens Paralympic Games in 2004.

However, they were barred from taking part, as the other Home Nations besides England, wouldn’t sanction a Great Britain team to play.

Fed up of being kicked around like a political football, and already owning a black belt in judo, he quit his job, switched sports and began training full-time.
He competed at the Beijing Paralympics in 2008.

But plagued by injury leading up to the World Championships in 2010 and World Games in 2011, he finished Judo and returned to football to play at the London Paralympic Games in 2012.

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Over the past decade, he has inspired thousands of young people through his work on various programmes with organisations such as the Dame Kelly Holmes Trust, Sports for Schools and Sport England amongst others.

Competitive Record

1
Football: 162 International appearances
2
Football: Scored 34 goals
3
Football: Won 10 World and European medals at the European Championships in Spain in 1997, Portugal in 1999, France in 2001, England in 2003, Spain again in 2005, Greece in 2007, Turkey in 2011, Germany in 2017, Italy in 2019 and the World Games in South Korea in 2015
4
Judo: Won medals in Judo at the European Championships in Azerbaijan in 2007 and Hungary in 2009
1
Football: 162 International appearances
2
Football: Scored 34 goals
3
Football: Won 10 World and European medals at the European Championships in Spain in 1997, Portugal in 1999, France in 2001, England in 2003, Spain again in 2005, Greece in 2007, Turkey in 2011, Germany in 2017, Italy in 2019 and the World Games in South Korea in 2015
4
Judo: Won medals in Judo at the European Championships in Azerbaijan in 2007 and Hungary in 2009

Darren's visit reinforced all the messages that were delivered throughout the day and he used his own experiences to help get these messages and advice across.

Laura Whitehead, Black Country School Games

Darren was a fantastic Sporting Champion who provided an excellent motivational Speech which inspired participants to give their all and demonstrate the values throughout the day.

Tim Aldred, School Games Organiser, Black Country

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